Maeve held up five fingers. "Flat labor fee. I'll give you a list. Have everything I ask for ready before the first of next month."
Tanner nodded briskly. "Give me an account number. I'll have five hundred thousand wired to you right away."
Maeve frowned. "Who said anything about five hundred thousand?"
Tanner froze.
"Was that too low?" he blurted. "Should it be five million?"
Five million was steep, sure—but the White family didn't blink at money. And this Miss Vance was clearly the woman Mr. White had chosen. If she asked for fifty million, he doubted Andres would even flinch.
Maeve looked genuinely speechless. "Five hundred. Dollars. That's the standard rate right now. If there are extra costs, I'll tell you."
It was a small rite. Charging five hundred thousand would be daylight robbery.
Andres, Murray, and Tanner all fell silent.
Five hundred?
The White family paid more than that to have someone tune a piano.
Andres tried to reason with her. "Maeve, you can charge more."
Maeve was stubborn about money in the most particular way. "It's a fixed price set by my order. I can't just decide a number. And once I'm paid, I'm required to donate half to charity."
Only then did Andres remember—when he'd watched her livestream readings, she'd also given away half of what she earned.
"Alright," he said. "You name the fee, I'll pay it."
He pointed to the dug-out area. "Should we fill this back in for now?"
Maeve nodded. "Box up the bones. I'll need them on the first."
Then she pulled a blank talisman paper from her canvas bag and laid it flat on her palm. In front of everyone, she used the click pen to draw a strange symbol.

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